Don't bother with Parallels Desktop for Mac (<=3), the current USB support is terrible and USB storage keys don't even work so there was no way I would try dfu-util. USB keys work under VMWare Fusion for Mac though I have yet to try dfu-util in an VM under VMWare Fusion as there is Openmoko Flasher for Mac. -- [[User: Eric|Eric]]

Don't bother with Parallels Desktop for Mac (<=3), the current USB support is terrible and USB storage keys don't even work so there was no way I would try dfu-util. USB keys work under VMWare Fusion for Mac though I have yet to try dfu-util in an VM under VMWare Fusion as there is Openmoko Flasher for Mac. -- [[User: Eric|Eric]]

Revision as of 22:28, 8 September 2008

Being primarily a Linux based project, the host platform of choice is Linux. However, it is entirely possible to work with Openmoko and Neo handsets using MacOS X, as you'll soon see.

There are actually two ways of working with Openmoko and MacOS X. One is simply to run ubuntustudio on parallels (or your favourite debian in your favourite virtual machine), in which case you would then follow the instructions for Linux, and Ubuntu in particular.

On the other hand, if you wish to use MacOS X directly, please continue:

USB Serial with screen

The screen program is included with Mac OS X, and can be used from the terminal command line to connect to the serial console. To do this, simply get to a shell prompt in the terminal and invoke screen as follows:

% screen /dev/tty.usbmodem00000001

You should find yourself at the U-boot serial console prompt. To get out, type control+a followed by control+backslash.

USB Serial with minicom

The minicom program from the MacPorts collection can be used to access the USB serial port /dev/cu.usbmodem00000001 (numbering may vary.)

First install the program (assuming you already have MacPorts installed):

sudo port install minicom

Then launch it in configuration mode (the -s flag):

sudo minicom -s

Under "Serial Port Setup", set the Device to "/dev/cu.usbmodem00000001" and set Bps to "115200 8N1". Under "Modem and Dialing", enter empty strings for "Init string", "Reset string", and "Hang-up string". Save the setup as default ("dfl") then Exit.

You should now be able to access the bootloader console. You should exit from Minicom before disconnecting the smartphone, or else you will get an error about unplugging a USB device while it is in use.

USB Serial with Terminal

The built in Mac Terminal application Terminal.app can be used to access the USB serial port /dev/tty.usbmodem00000001 (numbering may vary.)

When you boot Linux on the smartphone, or if the smartphone powers down, Mac OS X will show a USB Device Unplug Notice, "The USB device has been unplugged while an application was still active. This can result in loss of data." This error is probably harmless.

USB Networking

There are two drivers you can use to talk to the RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget that the Neo1973 presents to its host system. The main difference between them is stability, but both have their own problems. Leopard needs further testing (Apple revised the driver and the Network System Settings).

Apple CDC Ethernet driver 10.4.10

MacOS X 10.4.10 and later includes a driver for RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget devices. Launch System Preferences -> Network and you should see "new interface detected enXX".

Issue: Each time you reboot the Neo, the interface will get a different Ethernet address. This in turn makes Mac OS X create a new configuration record. After a while you'll end up with a load of unusable enXX devices - if you don't periodically clean them out. Open System Preferences and go to Network -> Show(Network Port Configurations) -> Select an enXX -> Delete.

Note: this is not a problem to blame MacOSX for because it tries to make network configuration simpler based on the assumption of stable Ethernet addresses.

Apple CDC Ethernet driver 10.5.x

Issue:10.5 (Leopard) doesn't show a new ethernet interface for a Neo1973 running 2007.11. You'll only get the serial port, which is detected as a modem. The Ethernet device will show up in ifconfig though.

The issue of multiple network interfaces showing up whenever the device is rebooted/power-cycled is due to the g_ether driver randomly setting the host and device mac addresses. This problem is remedied by passing the same host and device mac addresses during the modprobe of g_ether.

AJZaurusUSB driver

You can also use the open source driver from [1]. It was developed for handheld devices like iPAQ, Sharp Zaurus and Motorola A760, but works for Openmoko as well. Download and install according to the manual found inside the package. The code is GPL'd (source available) and runs on both Intel and PPC Macs with 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5.

After rebooting or loading the kernel extension by hand, you should have a new Ethernet interface in your System Preferences/Network.

Note: This driver does not have the same problem as the Apple driver does, where it constantly adds to the list of interfaces each time you reboot the neo, because the driver provides a constant ethernet address independently what the Neo says. Only flashing a new kernel might force you to update.

Issue: This driver is sometimes a bit flaky, and a reboot of the Mac seems to bring it back. It is especially critical about hot unplugging the OM and sleep modes of MacBooks. This may even result in a Kernel Panic.

Network Settings

Open System Preferences and go to Network and you should see "new interface detected enXX". In the Show list box select the new interface - Ethernet Adapter enXX.

Use this configuration on the new interface:

IP-V4: manual
IP-Addr: 192.168.0.200 (you can use anything in 192.168.0.* but OM is configured by default to use 192.168.0.200 as the external gateway)
Subnet: 255.255.255.0 (should be the default - see tip below if have issue with these settings)
Router: 192.168.0.202 (not actually needed, OS X can figure this out for itself, unless you have other conflicting configurations)

Tip: If your Internet connection is also in the range 192.168.0.x then instead you might want/need to use:

Subnet: 255.255.255.248

Testing Your Connection

You should be able to connect to your Neo! Try using Terminal (Applications->Utilities->Terminal) to ping the Neo at 192.168.0.202 and the roundtrip time should be between 1 and 2 ms.

ping 192.168.0.202

Then log into your Neo using ssh:

ssh root@192.168.0.202

The default password is blank.

You can also scp files back and forth or share displays with X11. Additional software and configuration could allow telnet, SMB, or many other possibilities using the TCP/IP network over your USB connection.

Here you see the 172.16.140.14 address, which makes it possible not to use natd, since it's in the same network as the Mac is. So the firewall knows where to sent it to -- no routing problems etc. Pick any free address in your private range. For instance, if you are using the following ... firewall: 192.168.1.1, Mac: 192.168.1.2, you can enter 192.168.1.3, assuming it's not used elsewhere on your network.

If you want to be sure you did it right, open the system.log file on the Mac (tail -f /var/log/system.log), and you should see something like this:

ZMacSync does not yet synchronize but allows more easy access to the Openmoko through Terminal/ssh.

Developing Openmoko software on a Mac

Using virtualization software and MokoMakefile/OpenEmbedded

You can use Parallels or VMWare to install your favourite Linux distribution and then develop just as on Linux.

There are some drawback since AFAIK dfu-util may not work correctly in such environments.

Don't bother with Parallels Desktop for Mac (<=3), the current USB support is terrible and USB storage keys don't even work so there was no way I would try dfu-util. USB keys work under VMWare Fusion for Mac though I have yet to try dfu-util in an VM under VMWare Fusion as there is Openmoko Flasher for Mac. -- Eric

Views

Personal tools

Being primarily a Linux based project, the host platform of choice is Linux. However, it is entirely possible to work with Openmoko and Neo handsets using MacOS X, as you'll soon see.

There are actually two ways of working with Openmoko and MacOS X. One is simply to run ubuntustudio on parallels (or your favourite debian in your favourite virtual machine), in which case you would then follow the instructions for Linux, and Ubuntu in particular.

On the other hand, if you wish to use MacOS X directly, please continue:

Flashing to your device

To operate the Phase 1 devices (Neo 1973), you need to flash a root file system first.

USB Serial with screen

The screen program is included with Mac OS X, and can be used from the terminal command line to connect to the serial console. To do this, simply get to a shell prompt in the terminal and invoke screen as follows:

% screen /dev/tty.usbmodem00000001

You should find yourself at the U-boot serial console prompt. To get out, type control+a followed by control+backslash.

USB Serial with minicom

The minicom program from the MacPorts collection can be used to access the USB serial port /dev/cu.usbmodem00000001 (numbering may vary.)

First install the program (assuming you already have MacPorts installed):

sudo port install minicom

Then launch it in configuration mode (the -s flag):

sudo minicom -s

Under "Serial Port Setup", set the Device to "/dev/cu.usbmodem00000001" and set Bps to "115200 8N1". Under "Modem and Dialing", enter empty strings for "Init string", "Reset string", and "Hang-up string". Save the setup as default ("dfl") then Exit.

You should now be able to access the bootloader console. You should exit from Minicom before disconnecting the smartphone, or else you will get an error about unplugging a USB device while it is in use.

USB Serial with Terminal

The built in Mac Terminal application Terminal.app can be used to access the USB serial port /dev/tty.usbmodem00000001 (numbering may vary.)

When you boot Linux on the smartphone, or if the smartphone powers down, Mac OS X will show a USB Device Unplug Notice, "The USB device has been unplugged while an application was still active. This can result in loss of data." This error is probably harmless.

USB Networking

There are two drivers you can use to talk to the RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget that the Neo1973 presents to its host system. The main difference between them is stability, but both have their own problems. Leopard needs further testing (Apple revised the driver and the Network System Settings).

Apple CDC Ethernet driver 10.4.10

MacOS X 10.4.10 and later includes a driver for RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget devices. Launch System Preferences -> Network and you should see "new interface detected enXX".

Issue: Each time you reboot the Neo, the interface will get a different Ethernet address. This in turn makes Mac OS X create a new configuration record. After a while you'll end up with a load of unusable enXX devices - if you don't periodically clean them out. Open System Preferences and go to Network -> Show(Network Port Configurations) -> Select an enXX -> Delete.

Note: this is not a problem to blame MacOSX for because it tries to make network configuration simpler based on the assumption of stable Ethernet addresses.

Apple CDC Ethernet driver 10.5.x

Issue:10.5 (Leopard) doesn't show a new ethernet interface for a Neo1973 running 2007.11. You'll only get the serial port, which is detected as a modem. The Ethernet device will show up in ifconfig though.

The issue of multiple network interfaces showing up whenever the device is rebooted/power-cycled is due to the g_ether driver randomly setting the host and device mac addresses. This problem is remedied by passing the same host and device mac addresses during the modprobe of g_ether.

AJZaurusUSB driver

You can also use the open source driver from [1]. It was developed for handheld devices like iPAQ, Sharp Zaurus and Motorola A760, but works for Openmoko as well. Download and install according to the manual found inside the package. The code is GPL'd (source available) and runs on both Intel and PPC Macs with 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5.

After rebooting or loading the kernel extension by hand, you should have a new Ethernet interface in your System Preferences/Network.

Note: This driver does not have the same problem as the Apple driver does, where it constantly adds to the list of interfaces each time you reboot the neo, because the driver provides a constant ethernet address independently what the Neo says. Only flashing a new kernel might force you to update.

Issue: This driver is sometimes a bit flaky, and a reboot of the Mac seems to bring it back. It is especially critical about hot unplugging the OM and sleep modes of MacBooks. This may even result in a Kernel Panic.

Network Settings

Open System Preferences and go to Network and you should see "new interface detected enXX". In the Show list box select the new interface - Ethernet Adapter enXX.

Use this configuration on the new interface:

IP-V4: manual
IP-Addr: 192.168.0.200 (you can use anything in 192.168.0.* but OM is configured by default to use 192.168.0.200 as the external gateway)
Subnet: 255.255.255.0 (should be the default - see tip below if have issue with these settings)
Router: 192.168.0.202 (not actually needed, OS X can figure this out for itself, unless you have other conflicting configurations)

Tip: If your Internet connection is also in the range 192.168.0.x then instead you might want/need to use:

Subnet: 255.255.255.248

Testing Your Connection

You should be able to connect to your Neo! Try using Terminal (Applications->Utilities->Terminal) to ping the Neo at 192.168.0.202 and the roundtrip time should be between 1 and 2 ms.

ping 192.168.0.202

Then log into your Neo using ssh:

ssh root@192.168.0.202

The default password is blank.

You can also scp files back and forth or share displays with X11. Additional software and configuration could allow telnet, SMB, or many other possibilities using the TCP/IP network over your USB connection.

Here you see the 172.16.140.14 address, which makes it possible not to use natd, since it's in the same network as the Mac is. So the firewall knows where to sent it to -- no routing problems etc. Pick any free address in your private range. For instance, if you are using the following ... firewall: 192.168.1.1, Mac: 192.168.1.2, you can enter 192.168.1.3, assuming it's not used elsewhere on your network.

If you want to be sure you did it right, open the system.log file on the Mac (tail -f /var/log/system.log), and you should see something like this:

ZMacSync does not yet synchronize but allows more easy access to the Openmoko through Terminal/ssh.

Developing Openmoko software on a Mac

Using virtualization software and MokoMakefile/OpenEmbedded

You can use Parallels or VMWare to install your favourite Linux distribution and then develop just as on Linux.

There are some drawback since AFAIK dfu-util may not work correctly in such environments.

Don't bother with Parallels Desktop for Mac (<=3), the current USB support is terrible and USB storage keys don't even work so there was no way I would try dfu-util. USB keys work under VMWare Fusion for Mac though I have yet to try dfu-util in an VM under VMWare Fusion as there is Openmoko Flasher for Mac. -- Eric